


there's always tomorrow

by onceuponanevilangel



Category: Conviction (TV 2016)
Genre: F/F, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, References to Addiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-01-09
Packaged: 2018-09-15 23:40:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9264194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onceuponanevilangel/pseuds/onceuponanevilangel
Summary: Hayes doesn't know what she wants, but Maxine is there to help her figure it out.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I am here for femslash and Maxine is fantastic and needs more love, so this happened. Written mostly in the early hours of the morning, so I just apologize for this fic as a whole, but if i waited any longer it was never going to get posted, so here.

“So what happened this time?”

Hayes spun around so quickly that she swayed and had to steady herself with a hand on the back of the couch. A brief flicker of confusion crossed her face, but once her eyes fell on Maxine, she seemed to stand a little bit straighter and she held the bottle of whatever she was drinking behind her back like she was trying to hide it from view.

“Maxine,” Hayes said. “I don’t –”

“You’ve got a tell,” Maxine said. She crossed her arms and nodded pointedly at the bottle in Hayes’ hand. “You stay late and drink alone when you’re punishing yourself for something so come on. You’ll feel better if you tell someone about it.”

“Is that the cop or the reformed addict talking?” Hayes asked.

“The mom actually,” Maxine said. “And partly the investigator. Believe it or not I prefer coming to work when my boss isn’t hungover and brooding about something.”

“I do not _brood_ ,” Hayes protested.

Maxine scoffed and raised an eyebrow.

“ _Much,_ ” Hayes murmured. She turned around and strolled back over to her desk where she set the half-empty bottle of what Maxine was pretty sure was schnapps on her desk. Hayes turned back around, sat on her desk, and kicked one of the chairs in front of her a little bit closer to Maxine. “You can sit if you want to.”

“Does that mean we’re gonna talk?”

“It means I think a chair is more comfortable than standing in the doorway. Take it or leave it.”

Maxine uncrossed her arms and made her way across the office and sat down without taking her eyes off of Hayes like the peace could shatter at any moment and Hayes would shut down and kick Maxine out.

“Do you like iced tea?” Hayes asked.

“Excuse me?”

“Iced tea,” Hayes repeated. “I know you don’t drink and I think Frankie left a few cans of Arizona in the fridge in the break room.”

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Maxine said drily. She noticed Hayes eyeing the bottle of schnapps and reached out to grab it before Hayes could. She set it on the floor next to her and then looked back up at Hayes.

“Hey!” Hayes exclaimed.

“Come on, I don’t have all night. If you want to talk, let’s talk. Your pity party can wait.”

Hayes frowned as she pushed herself off her desk and sat down in the other chair in front of her desk. Even though she and Maxine were on the same level, she refused to look directly at Maxine, focusing instead on the toes of Maxine’s shoes.

“I guess I’m just trying to figure some things out.” Hayes paused and cleared her throat. “Or figure some _people_ out.”

“Relationship troubles?” Maxine guessed.

Hayes just bit her lip and nodded.

“What happened?”

“I slept with Wallace.”

Maxine didn’t say anything for a long moment and Hayes finally looked up. She seemed different than Maxine had ever seen her before, brown eyes wide and glistening with a thin veil of moisture, her nose twitching just slightly, her lips and hands trembling, she looked scared. It was a new side of Hayes that Maxine had never seen before and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it.

“When?” Maxine finally asked.

“When we were in Indiana,” Hayes said. “It was just after Earl…”

She trailed off and started to reach for the bottle on her desk only to remember that it was next to Maxine. Hayes closed her hand into a fist and brought it back into her lap.

“And what happened?” Maxine asked.

Hayes’ lips twitched. “You want the full story?”

“Ugh, no.” Maxine rolled her eyes and Hayes almost laughed.

“Well suffice to say, I liked it, but once we got home, he and Naomi broke up and he wanted more and I…well, I don’t know what I want,” Hayes said. She frowned. “And that’s ridiculous. I slept with him and I did want to, but he wants more and we’ve tried that already and it doesn’t work, but he wants to try again and I just don’t know if I can.”

“Well I think we both know that you weren’t thinking straight after what happened with that case in Indiana so I think anything that happened that night might not have been your most rational moment,” Maxine said.

“Because we know I have so many of those,” Hayes quipped.

“You have more than you think,” Maxine said.

Hayes made a soft noise somewhere between a laugh and a sigh and turned to look out the huge windows behind her desk. Maxine wasn’t quite sure, but she could have sworn she saw a single tear track carving its way down Hayes’ cheek.

“Hey,” Maxine said after a moment. She moved her chair a little closer and leaned forward to set her hand gently over Hayes’. “It’s alright. You sleeping with someone once doesn’t mean that you owe them anything, even if that person is the DA.”

“I don’t know if it’s that simple,” Hayes said quietly.

“It’s only going to be as difficult as you make it,” Maxine said.

They were quiet for a moment. Hayes turned to look at Maxine with a totally unreadable expression and before Maxine could react, Hayes was leaning forward. Maxine knew exactly what was happening, but she didn’t bother to move away. In fact, when Hayes’ lips touched hers, she found herself leaning a little bit closer too, enjoying the kiss even more than she had expected. She could still taste the peach schnapps on Hayes’ mouth and she pulled back.

“You’re drunk,” she murmured.

“Am not,” Hayes said.

“You’re tipsy then and you’re not thinking straight.”

“I haven’t thought straight since I was fourteen,” Hayes said with a tiny smirk.

“Well either way, how about you try again when you’re sober and right now we get you home so you can get some sleep.”

“You want me to try again?”

Maxine grabbed the bottle of schnapps off the floor and set it back on Hayes’ desk. “I think the real question is do _you_ want to.”

Hayes bit her lip again and seemed to be losing herself in thought before Maxine extended her hand to help Hayes up.

“Come on,” she said. “You can think about it in the morning. Right now just do yourself a favor and go home.”

“Is that still the mom talking?” Hayes asked.

“No, this is someone who cares about you talking,” Maxine said. “I’m going home and I don’t want you here punishing yourself until god knows when. And I’m texting your brother, so don’t you dare think about staying behind my back.”

“Yes ma’am,” Hayes said. “I’ll be right down.”

“Good.” Maxine started to leave, but when she reached the doorway, she stopped and turned back around. “Oh, Hayes?”

“Yeah?”

“Those Arizonas are mine. Don’t touch them.”

Two pink spots appeared in Hayes’ cheeks, but she lifted two fingers anyway. “Scout’s honor.”

Maxine didn’t believe that for a second, but she wasn’t in the mood to really broach Hayes’ food stealing habits at that moment. That was a conversation for another night.

“Good night, Hayes.”

“Night.”

Maxine turned and walked out of the office. By the time she reached the elevator, she could hear the sound of Hayes locking her office door which was definitely a good sign. Hayes’ heels clicked on the tiles of the hallway, but the elevator doors closed before she came into view.

As the elevator started moving, Maxine was left alone with the taste of Hayes’ lipstick on her mouth and the thought that she really did want Hayes to try again.


End file.
